This study investigates the impact of changes in international reserves on the maturity structure of Egypt’s external debt from 1970 to 2023, with a focus on economic crises as key tests of fiscal and monetary policy flexibility. It explores whether reserves are effectively used to manage debt maturity or if crises and market conditions constrain this role. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, the findings show that, in the long run, international reserves, broad money (M2), and financial openness positively influence long-term external debt, while higher productivity and weaker rule of law have a negative association. Inflation and other macro prudential indicators significantly affect debt maturity. Short-run results align with the long-run findings but with a smaller magnitude of impact.